Ohio’s Diebold Gains Duty Free Access into India’s $100+ Million IT Market
September 25, 2012
(International Trade Administration)
The International Trade Administration’s (ITA) Market Access and Compliance
(MAC) Unit recently supported Diebold, a Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer of
automated teller machines (ATMs), in its efforts to overcome an unfair cost of
doing business in India’s IT sector.
Why it matters: Though India had committed to provide duty free access to
certain IT products, including ATMs, its decision not to classify Diebold’s
machines as ATMs subjected Diebold to a 30 percent duty. This significantly
raised the cost of Diebold’s exports and undermined their competitiveness in the
Indian market.
The problem: Indian Customs authorities refused to classify Diebold’s machines
as ATMs because the machines did not accept deposits, thus depriving Diebold of
the benefits of duty-free treatment to which India had previously agreed under
the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Information Technology Agreement.
The solution: MAC, in cooperation with other U.S. Government agencies, placed
sustained pressure on the Indian Commerce and Finance Ministries to reclassify
Diebold’s machines appropriately as ATMs. As a result, India finally
reclassified Diebold’s machines, reducing the tariff’s Diebold owed from 30% to
zero, and ensuring its continued duty-free access to the $100+ million market
for the company in India.
Working closely with U.S. companies, MAC creates, expands and defends market
access for U.S. goods and services overseas. Through its Trade Agreements
Compliance Program, MAC ensures that our trading partners live up to their
commitments. “We promote policy that develops a more favorable business climate
for U.S. companies in global markets; we employ commercial diplomacy to resolve
trade barriers; and we leverage our bilateral and multilateral trade agreements
to ensure our trading partners live up to their commitments so that our
businesses can compete on a level-playing field.” - Assistant Secretary for
Market Access and Compliance, Michael C. Camuñez.
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